JAPANESE LITERATURE

The written literature of Japan forms one of

the richest of Oriental traditions. It has
received foreign influences since its beginning
in the 8th century. Before the middle of the
19th century, the source of influence was the
culture of China. After the middle of the 19th
century, the impact of modern Western
culture became predominant.

EARLY and HEIAN LITERATURE

Official embassies to the Sui (581–618) and
Tang (618–907) dynasties of China (kenzuishi
and kentoshi, respectively), initiated in 600,
were the chief means by which Chinese
culture, technology, and methods of
government were introduced on a
comprehensive basis in Japan. The Kojiki
(712; Record of Ancient Matters) and the
Nihon shoki (720; Chronicles of Japan), the
former written in hybrid Sino-Japanese and
the latter in classical Chinese, were compiled
under the sponsorship of the government for
the purpose of authenticating the legitimacy of
its polity.
However, among these collections of
myths, genealogies, legends of folk heroes,
and historical records, there appear a number
of songs—largely irregular in meter and
written with Chinese characters representing
Japanese words or syllables—that offer
insight into the nature of preliterate Japanese
verse.
The first major collection of native poetry,
again written with Chinese characters, was
the Man’yoshu (late 8th century; The Ten
Thousand Leaves), which contains verses,
chiefly the 31-syllable waka, that were composed in large part between the mid-7th
and mid-8th centuries. The earlier poems in
the collection are characterized by the direct
expression of strong emotion but those of
later provenance show the emergence of the
rhetorical conventions and expressive
subtlety that dominated the subsequent
tradition of court poetry.

A revolutionary achievement of the mid-

9th century was the development of a native
orthography (kana) for the phonetic
representation of Japanese. Employing
radically abbreviated Chinese characters to
denote Japanese sounds, the system
contributed to a deepening consciousness of
a native literary tradition distinct from that of
China. Poets compiled collections (shikashu)
of their verses and, drawing partly on these,
the Kokin wakashu (905; Waka Collection
from Ancient and Modern Times), the first of
21 imperial anthologies of native poetry, was
assembled in the early 10th century.
The introduction of kana also led to the
development of a prose literature in the
vernacular, early examples of which are the
Ise monogatari (early 10th century; Tales of
Ise), a collection of vignettes centered on
poems; and the diary Tosa nikki (935; The
Tosa Diary). In the late 10th century, the
ascendancy of the Fujiwara regents, whose
power over emperors depended on the
reception of their daughters as imperial
consorts, resulted in the formation of literary
coteries of women in the courts of empresses,
and it was these women who produced the
great prose classics of the 11th century. Such
works as Genji monogatari (early 11th
century; Tale of Genji), a fictional narrative by
Murasaki Shikibu, and the Makura no soshi
(996–1012; The Pillow Book of Sei
Shonagon), a collection of essays by Sei
Shonagon, are considered by Japanese to be
a watershed in the development of the native
literary tradition.

MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
The chief development in poetry during the
medieval period (mid-12th to 16th century)
was linked verse (renga). Arising from the
court tradition of waka, renga was cultivated
by the warrior class as well as by courtiers,
and some among the best renga poets, such
as Sogi, were commoners. A major
development in prose literature of the
medieval era was the war tale (gunki
monogatari). Heike monogatari (early 13th
century; The Tale of the Heike) relates the
events of the war between the Taira and
Minamoto families that finally brought an end
to imperial rule; it was disseminated among
all levels of society by itinerant priests who
chanted the story to the accompaniment of a
lute like instrument, the biwa. The social upheaval of the early years of the era led to
the appearance of works deeply influenced by
the Buddhist notion of the inconstancy of
worldly affairs (mujo). The theme of mujo
provides the ground note of Heike monogatari
and the essay collections Hojoki (1212; The
Ten Foot Square Hut), by Kamo no Chomei,
and Tsurezuregusa (ca 1330; Essays in
Idleness), by Yoshida Kenko.

EDO LITERATURE

The formation of a stable central government

in Edo (now Tokyo), after some 100 years of
turmoil, and the growth of a market economy
based on the widespread use of a
standardized currency led to the development
in the Edo period (1603–1867) of a class of
wealthy townsmen. General prosperity
contributed to an increase in literacy, and
literary works became marketable
commodities, giving rise to a publishing
industry. Humorous fictional studies of
contemporary society such as Koshoku
ichidai otoko (1682; The Life of an Amorous
Man), by Ihara Saikaku, were huge
commercial successes, and prose works,
often elaborately illustrated, that were
directed toward a mass audience became a
staple of Edo-period literature. Commercial
playhouses were established for the
performance of puppet plays (joruri) and
kabuki, whose plots often centered on
conflicts arising from the rigidly hierarchical
social order that was instituted by the
Tokugawa shogunate.
The 17-syllable form of light verse known
as haikai (later known as haiku), whose
subject matter was drawn from nature and the
lives of ordinary people, was raised to the
level of great poetry by Matsuo Basho. He is
especially well known for his travel diaries,
such as the Oku no hosomichi (1702; The
Narrow Road to the Deep North). A number of
philologists, among them Keichu, Kamo no
Mabuchi, and Motoori Norinaga, wrote
scholarly studies on early literary texts, such
as Kojiki, Man’yoshu, and The Tale of Genji.

MODERN LITERATURE
The imperial restoration of 1867 was followed
by the wholesale introduction of Western
technology and culture, which largely
displaced Chinese culture. As a result, the
novel became established as a serious and
respected genre of the literature of Japan. A
related development was the gradual
abandonment of literary language in favor of
the usages of colloquial speech.
Futabatei Shimei produced what has been
called Japan’s first modern novel, Ukigumo
(1887–1889; Drifting Clouds). What is
strikingly fresh about the novel is the
colloquial style of the language, Futabatei’s
conception of his hero’s plight within the
context of a quickly changing society, and his
subtle psychological examination of his
protagonist. In the 1890s, Futabatei’s
psychological insight was adopted by several
young writers. One of the most impressive
works of fiction in this style was the story
“Takekurabe” (1895–1896; “Growing Up”), by
Higuchi Ichiyo. In this tale of children living in
a red-light district, Ichiyo describes
adolescent loneliness and the confusion
attending the onset of puberty. Another writer,
Shimazaki Toson, relates in his first novel,
Hakai (1906; The Broken Commandment),
the story of a schoolteacher who hides the
fact that he was born in a community of
outcaste people until he realizes his only
salvation lies in living openly with the truth.
After Hakai, however, Toson retreated into his
own private world to write in the genre of
personal history known as the “I-novel”
(shishosetsu).
The modern Japanese realistic novel was
brought to full maturity by Natsume Soseki.

His heroes are usually university-educated

men made vulnerable by the new egoism and
an overly keen perception of their separation
from the rest of the world. Guilt, betrayal, and
isolation are for Soseki the inevitable
consequences of the liberation of the self and
all the uncertainties that have come with the
advent of Western culture. These motifs are
explored in his novels Kokoro (1914; The
Heart), Mon (1910; The Gate), and Kojin
(1912–1913; The Wayfarer). Mori Ogai first
won acclaim with three romantic short stories
set in Germany. The most popular, “Maihime”
(1890; “The Dancing Girl”), deals with the
doomed love affair of a young Japanese
student in Berlin with a German dancer. His
most representative late works are
fictionalized studies in history and biography,
such as the life of an Edo-period doctor
presented in Shibue Chusai (1916).
Akutagawa Ryunosuke was one of Japan’s
most famous short-story writers. Such stories
as “Rashomon” (1915; “Rashomon”), and
“Yabu no naka” (1922; “In a Grove”) are
brilliantly told, combining psychological
subtlety and a sardonic tone with a fanciful
delight in the grotesque. Nagai Kafu, whose
life and work reflected the tension between
the modern and a yearning for the old Japan,
is best known for his elegiac works. Bokuto
kidan (1937; A Strange Tale from East of the
River), a notable example of such fiction,
depicts in loving detail a fading demimonde
on the outskirts of Tokyo.
The writer who most clearly reflected the
sense of loss and confusion following the
shattering experience of World War II was
Dazai Osamu. Dazai’s Shayo (1947; The
Setting Sun) and the novel published just
before his suicide, Ningen shikkaku (1948; No
Longer Human), attracted a large readership.
Not long after the defeat, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro
published his masterpiece, the massive novel
Sasameyuki (1943–1948; The Makioka
Sisters). A chronicle of the lives of the
daughters of a patrician merchant family in its
last stages of decline before the outbreak of
the war, it is a beautiful elegy to the final
passing of all that remained of an older and
more elegant world.
In novels such as Yukiguni (1935–1947;
Snow Country), Nobel laureate Kawabata
Yasunari creates enormous distances
between his characters, suggesting a dread
of intimacy that threatens even the most
promising of human relationships. After the
war, Kawabata took to writing what he called
“elegies to the lost Japan” in such works as
Yama no oto (1949– 1954; The Sound of the
Mountain). Yet Japanese writing in the early
postwar years could not be characterized
solely in terms of the shock and dislocation of
defeat. There was, in fact, a vigorous
renascence of literary activity after 1945, and
a new group of writers who debuted at this
time came to be known as the “first
generation” of postwar authors. Members of
this group include Noma Hiroshi and Ooka
Shohei. The “second generation” of postwar
writers includes Abe Kobo and Mishima Yukio.
Abe would eventually create a distinctive type
of Kafkaesque existential allegory in novels
such as Suna no onna (1962; The Woman in
the Dunes), while Mishima attracted an
international readership with his opulent
aestheticism in such works as Kinkakuji
(1956; The Temple of the Golden Pavilion).
Critics have posited a turning point in the
1950s, after which Japanese fiction can no
longer be easily characterized in terms of the
early postwar consciousness. Beginning
about this time, a revival and restructuring of
the I-novel form was achieved by a “third
generation” of postwar writers such as Kojima
Nobuo, Yasuoka Shotaro, Yoshiyuki
Junnosuke, and Shimao Toshio. Also
included in this group is Endo Shusaku, a
Catholic convert who examines the issues of
betrayal, cowardice, and martyrdom in novels
such as Chimmoku (1966; Silence). From the
1960s onward, writers have sought to
synthesize various approaches to fiction or to
experiment with new modes of representation.
Oe Kenzaburo, who received the Nobel Prize
for literature in 1994, has been a prodigiously
inventive force in contemporary fiction,
continuously experimenting with form and
mode of presentation in such novels as
Kojinteki na taiken (1964; A Personal Matter)
and Man’en gannen no futtoboru (1967; The
Silent Cry). Tsushima Yuko, the daughter of
Dazai Osamu, has explored the lives of
women who are single parents in Choji (1978;
Child of Fortune).
Finally, the generation raised on the
international culture of the last decades has
found its voice in writers such as Murakami
Ryu, author of Kagirinaku tomei ni chikai buru
(1976; Almost Transparent Blue), and
Murakami Haruki, whose Noruwei no mori
(1988; Norwegian Wood) sold more than ten
million copies. Yoshimoto Banana, who was
born in 1964, portrays the lives of people in
desperately isolated situations in Kitchin
(1988; Kitchen). These writers have been
immensely popular with young readers both in
Japan and abroad. More recently, Kirino
Natsuo has gained attention with her mystery
novels. Her most famous works include Auto
(1998; Out) and Grotesuku (2003; Grotesque).

LITERATURE TODAY
Since 2000 new forms of literature have been
appearing, including online novels released
on the Internet and cell phone (keitai) novels
sent by cell phone, as Internet and cell phone
use spreads. Among keitai novels that were
accessed by many people are some that have
become bestsellers in book form and works
that have been dramatized. Light novels for
young people, which include many illustrations and are written in an easy-to-
understand style, are also becoming popular.

In addition, the works of Murakami Haruki

have been translated into many languages
and achieved international acclaim. In 2006
he was awarded the Franz Kafka Prize in the
Czech Republic, and in 2009 the Jerusalem
Prize in Israel.

JAPANESE LITERATURE

Japanese literature is among the richest Oriental traditions.

Influenced by foreign cultures since the 8th century.
Chinese culture was the primary influence before the mid-19th century.
After the mid-19th century, modern Western culture became predominant.

EARLY and HEIAN LITERATURE

Chinese culture, technology, and governance was introduced through embassies to the Sui and
Tang dynasties in the 7th to 9th centuries.
Kojiki and Nihon shoki were written in hybrid Sino-Japanese and classical Chinese, legitimizing
Japanese polity.
Early Japanese verse is revealed in myths and songs, gradually evolving into court poetry.
The Man’yoshu (late 8th century) marked the emergence of court poetry's conventions and
expressive subtlety.
The development of kana in the mid-9th century deepened the native literary tradition.
Kokin wakashu (905) was the first imperial anthology of native poetry.
Prose literature in the vernacular emerged in the late 10th century through works like Ise
monogatari and Tosa nikki.
Female literary coteries in the 11th century produced classics like Genji monogatari and The
Pillow Book.
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

Linked verse (renga) flourished in the medieval period.

War tales (gunki monogatari) like Heike monogatari depicted conflicts and the Buddhist notion
of the inconstancy of worldly affairs.
Hojoki and Tsurezuregusa, essay collections, explored philosophical themes.

EDO LITERATURE

Edo period (1603–1867) saw the rise of wealthy townsmen and a market economy.
Increased literacy led to a publishing industry.
Humorous fictional studies of society, like Koshoku ichidai otoko, were commercial successes.
Haikai (haiku) by Matsuo Basho gained prominence.
Scholars wrote studies on early literary texts.
Edo culture influenced puppet plays and kabuki.

MODERN LITERATURE

The imperial restoration of 1867 introduced Western culture and displaced Chinese culture.
The novel genre gained respect, with a shift to colloquial language.
Futabatei Shimei's Ukigumo (1887–1889) marked the emergence of Japan's first modern novel.
Natsume Soseki's works like Kokoro explored themes of egoism and isolation.
Mori Ogai and Akutagawa Ryunosuke contributed to modern Japanese literature.
Dazai Osamu, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, and Kawabata Yasunari reflected the post-war era.
A "first generation" of postwar authors emerged.

LITERATURE TODAY

Since 2000, new forms of literature include online novels and cell phone (keitai) novels.
Keitai novels have become bestsellers and even adapted into dramas.
Light novels for young readers with illustrations are gaining popularity.
Murakami Haruki's works have gained international acclaim, winning awards like the Franz
Kafka Prize and the Jerusalem Prize.